harrypotterfandomcom-20200223-history
Veela
|status = Extant }} Veela are semi-human magical beings who appear as young, beautiful women with white-gold hair and moon-bright skin, native to Bulgaria. Their looks and especially their dance is hypnotically seductive to almost all male beings, which causes them to perform foolhardy and impulsive actions to get closer to, and to receive admiration from the Veela. Veela were the mascots for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team during the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, which indicates an Eastern European origin, although the Delacours, who were from France, are proof that they can be found all over Europe. Nature Veela are described as looking like incredibly beautiful women, with moon-bright skin and white-gold hair that fans out behind them despite the absence of wind. They have the ability to hypnotise and mesmerise most men with their seductive dance, who will then try to impress them. Veela have their own type of magic which does not require a wand. When Veela are angry, however, they transform into something more like Harpies — their faces turn into cruel-beaked bird-like heads while long scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and they can launch balls of fire from their hands. Veela seem to be quite an irascible race. For example, in the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, they were easily wound up by the Leprechauns, resulting in a fight between both teams' mascots on the pitch. The Veela were then sent off the pitch. Veela hair Veela hair is a magical substance, suitable as a core for wand crafting. Renowned wandmaker Garrick Ollivander noted that he personally never used it, as he found the result to be temperamental. Fleur Delacour's wand contained a single hair from her Veela grandmother. Cross-breeding Veela have been known to marry wizards, although it is unknown whether any have married Muggles. Children of these unions are half-Veela, and they will inherit magical ability from their wizarding parent and beauty and charm from their Veela parent. Veela traits seem to persist for at least a few generations (examples being Apolline Delacour, and her daughters Fleur and Gabrielle). Apolline Delacour was a Half-Veela, thus her children Fleur and Gabrielle were quarter-Veela, and Fleur's children Victoire, Dominique, and Louis were each an one-eighth Veela; it is unknown if they inherited any specific Veela characteristics from their great-grandmother. It is unknown whether half-blooded Veela can throw fire or transform into harpy-like creatures as their full-blooded relatives can. Known Veela *Fleur Delacour's maternal grandmother *At least two cousins of Fleur Delacour. *The Bulgarian National Quidditch team mascots at the Quidditch World Cup in 1994. The mascots danced to hypnotise the players as well as the fans on the other team; even the referee was affected. See also *Blood status Behind the scenes *Veela (or les Wilis in French) are featured in the ballet, Giselle. *The term "Veela" is never used in the films. *The word "Veela" is an Anglicisation of the Slavic term Vila. *Veela are described as fairy or nymph-like creatures in , who live in bodies of water and have power and ability over storms. They may be the ghosts of women who drowned, especially those who were betrayed by their lovers. They often appear as beautiful women, but are known to morph into swans, snakes, horses, or wolves. Their magically seductive speaking and singing voices hypnotise those who hear them, and they are fierce warriors. Interestingly, given that Fleur Delacour's wand has a hair from her Veela grandmother, it is said in some legends that if even one of their hairs is plucked, a Veela will either die or be forced to change into a non-human shape. Veela are main features of Bulgarian and Serbian folklore such as the story of Marko Kraljevic and the Veela (archive link). Also see The Ballads of Marko Kraljevic (English translation). **If the stories regarding the plucking of Wili/Vila hair hold true with regards to Veela it seems more likely the hair used in Fleur's wand would have naturally shed rather than been plucked. *One of the questions on the 2nd Level W.O.M.B.A.T. asks the examinee to identify which of five given statements is false; one of these claims that full-blooded male Veela do not exist. *Veela are similar to the Sirens of . Sirens are featured in Homer's , as half-bird, sea-dwelling hybrids whose hypnotic singing causes sailors to run aground. However, in the Harry Potter universe, Sirens are one of the three known species of Merpeople, and, as far as we know, are unrelated to Veela. *The Veela of Slavic folklore are akin to fairies in Germanic folklore and their beauty is somewhat reminiscent of the Elves of J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium - sometimes referred to as "fairies" in his earlier works - which were based on the fairies of Germanic lore. Appearances * * * * * * * Notes and references de:Veela fr:Vélane ru:Вейла pl:Wila pt-br:Veela de2:Veela Category:1994 Quidditch World Cup Category:Creatures from Bulgaria Category:Mascots Category:Muggle-known creatures Category:Veela